Archaeology & History of the Indian College & Student Life at Colonial Harvard

Through archaeological finds from Harvard Yard, historic maps, and more, the exhibition reveals how students lived at colonial Harvard and the role of the Indian College in Harvard’s early years.

Student archaeologists unearthed evidence of colonial Harvard as a landscape shaped by social and religious tensions, which affected everything from Native American and English settler relationships to the everyday routines of student life. As the students searched for meaning in the material remains of Harvard students of the past, three themes emerged: literacy and the Indian College; rule (breaking) and religion; and negotiations of social status. Who knew that small fragments buried below ground could reveal so much?